BP (NYSE:BP) (BP.L) was criticised by some legal experts for seeking to have pre-trial matters in lawsuits related to the Deepwater Horizon oil leak handled by a judge with energy-industry links. In other news, co. says its containment cap system has captured 7,500 barrels of oil in 12 hours, at the site of the leak in the Gulf of Mexico. The energy giant expects to increase collection “over the next few days” – and plans to raise the amount to 20,000 barrels per day. Growing indications show that the massive oil slick may miss the Florida panhandle, getting caught up in the Gulf Coast Stream and move south towards the Florida Keys. Accuweather.com meteorologists say. Britain said it would increase its inspection of North Sea drilling rigs and monitoring of offshore practices in the light of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Elsewhere, co.’s assets could be of interest to BHP Billiton and Woodside, according to a report. (Times/Sources/Australian Financial Review)

UK

BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP)/Rio Tinto (NYSE:RTP)- Co.’s have notified Japanese steel mills of their intention to raise July-September iron ore prices by 22%-23% from the previous quarter, according to a source. (RTRS)

BT (NYSE:BT) – Co. may have increased its pay offer to the Communication Workers Union after the union said it would hold a strike vote if the co. did not boost its offer. Co. had offered a 2% increase, while the CWU was seeking 5% increase. (Times)

Prudential (NYSE:PUK) (PRU.L) – Co. will keep a very close eye on AIA group following co.’s unsuccessful takeover of AIA, according to co.’s chairman. (FT)

BSkyB – Co. and Sky fully and finally settled the litigation between them and all related claims, for a total amount of GBP 318mln. Says amount includes interim payments GBP 270mln that Eds has already made to Sky. (RTRS)

WPP – Television advertising prices picked up quickly in March because of factors including a return of dormant advertisers and branding, according to futures director at co.’s media buying unit. (FT)

Aggreko – Co. says H1 revenue to grow 10% and sees H1 trading profit up about 20%. Co. sees performance significantly above prior hopes, and sees fleet capex of about GBP 265mln. (Sources)

WH Smith – Co.’s sales in first 14 weeks of H2 down 3%, and same store sales in first 14 weeks of H2 down 4%. Co. continues to be cautious about consumer spending, however is confident in outcome for FY. Co. says financial position is in line with market expectations, and co. is generating high levels of cash from operations. (Sources)

US

Equities finished in negative territory as Fridays weak jobs report and European debt concerns continued to weigh on sentiment. The industrials and technology sectors were the worst performers in the S&P 500 and in terms of individual companies, Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) (+6.33%) finished much higher after reports that its experimental drug ipilimumab extended survival in patients with deadly skin cancer and after Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) (-2.51%) upgraded the drug manufacturer. Furthermore, CVS Caremark (NYSE:CVS) (-8.14%) shares endured heavy losses after Walgreen (NYSE:WAG) (-2.72%) announced it will scale down its prescription plan business with the company. In addition, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) (-1.96%) unveiled its new iPhone but this did little to lift sentiment and the co.’s shares came pressure along with the wider market as the close approached. At the close; the S&P 500 closed down -1.35% at 1050.47, the DJIA closed down 1.16% at 9816.49 and the NASDAQ 100 closed down 1.85% at 1798.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) – Executive Steve Jobs sketched out the new iPhone 4 with more than 100 new features to a packed room at the company’s developers’ conference in San Francisco. The iPhone 4 comes with many features that analysts expected, including a better display and a front-facing camera that could potentially be used for videoconferencing. It is 24% slimmer than the current 3GS model. The handset is to start at USD 199 in US and will be available in the US, France, Germany, Japan and the UK on June 24. (RTRS)

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)/Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) – Apple CEO says iPhone 4 will add Microsoft Bing search as option whilst Google is to remain default. (RTRS)

Hewlett Packard (NYSE:HPQ) – According to market watchers, co. notebook shipments in May 2010 reached 2.6-2.7mln, lower than co.’s expectation of 3.2-3.4mln units. (Digi Times)

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) – FDIC chairman Angelides says co. has not ‘been cooperative with our requests for information.’ (RTRS)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Co. plans to close 300 branch offices and plans to slash 1200 jobs over year. (CNBC)

General Electric (NYSE:GE) – Co.’s finance unit is in talks to sell its 75% stake in Panama’s BAC-Credomatic GECF as co. shrinks assets to focus on commercial lending, according to sources. (Sources)

McGraw Hill (NYSE:MHP) – Co.’s 2010 guidance of diluted EPS is USD 2.55- USD 2.65 vs. Exp. USD 2.65. (Sources)

Abbott (NYSE:ABT) – Co. and Sanofi-Aventis lose bid to obstruct Glenmark’s generic version of Tarka and says drug infringes US patent. (Sources)

Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) – Co. plans to double emerging market sales in next 5 years, and says will explore strategic acquisitions in emerging markets. (Sources)

Staples (NASDAQ:SPLS) – Co. announces Q2 2010 dividend of USD 0.09/share, also announced to resume share repurchases under the program authored in June 2007. Says currently has approximately USD 1.0bln of remaining authorisation under this share repurchase program. (RTRS)

Europe

A new crisis could spark the expansion of Germany’s new ban on naked short selling, but there is no reason for that now, according to the head of the Committee of European Securities Regulators. (RTRS)

E.ON/GDF Suez – Co.s have signed a memorandum of understanding on their current and developing market for new nuclear energy in Italy. Both parties are committed to strong cooperation with local utilities as well as with large consumers in Italy. (Sources)

Total (NYSE:TOT) – Co. says Total Gas & Power USA unit has bought 25.4% stake in AE Polysilicon Corporation. (RTRS)

GDF Suez/E.ON – Co.s have signed a memorandum of understanding on their current and developing market for new nuclear energy in Italy. Both parties are committed to strong cooperation with local utilities as well as with large consumers in Italy. (Sources)

Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE:SNY) – Co. and Abbott lose bid to obstruct Glenmark’s generic version of Tarka and says drug infringes US patent. In other news, co. and Vivalis sign license deal in Human Monoclonal Antibodies against infectious diseases. (RTRS)(Sources)

Alstom/Schneider Electric – Cos. finalise the acquisition of the transmission and distribution business of Areva. (RTRS)

Schneider Electric – Co.’s CEO says there is no reason to change co.’s target for moderate increase in like for like sales in 2010. (Les Echos)

GDF Suez – Co. and E.ON sign partnership to explore new opportunities in nuclear sector in Italy. (RTRS)

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